


Up, Up, Down, Down, Kiss, and Make Up

by Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Boarding School AU, F/M, Human AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-06-11 00:29:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15303474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch/pseuds/Imgonnabeyourbubblegumwitch
Summary: Boarding school AU.When Chiron bans video games, Leo gets creative and decides they should create their own game. The result is part D&D campaign, part cosplay opportunity and part complete chaos. Hazel might have somehow accidentally been proposed to, Annabeth is frustrated by video game logic, Jason and Piper start a feud, and Nico is trying very hard not to notice Will Solace and even harder not to let himself be video gamed into asking Will out. And Leo? He's in his element controlling it all.





	1. Part One (The Set Up/Logging On)

 

Chiron had banned video games. He claimed it was because they rotted your brain and that everyone should be getting outside in the fresh air. In truth it was probably because Corridor 13 had gotten a little too competitive during a Mario Kart competition and a wii remote had flown off of someone's wrist and managed to take out both the TV and a window by a miracle of rebound and angles. The window had been fixed very quickly. The TV hadn't.

Chiron had insinuated they wouldn't get it back until after the holidays. After the obligatory complaints, chiding and threats to never speak to Corridor 13 again, the students of The Pantheon School were left to figure out what to do with themselves.

Predictably it was Leo who came up with something first.

"Let's make our own video game."

That didn't get much of a response at first. Piper and Annabeth were sitting in the window seat, not really listening. Of all of them they'd been the least worried about the loss of the TV since they'd only ever shown up to the video game tournaments occasionally to put the rest of them back in their place: Mario Kart wasn't a challenge anymore and it was doubtful it ever had been. Jason was at the desk by the window. He was probably the next level of not interested because he had somehow ended up on the committee to organise the prom and so his and Reyna's free time was usually spent arguing about menus, colour schemes and mildly threatening corporations who thought they could con two teenagers into buying overpriced balloons.

Percy did care about the loss of the TV, because without it he had one less reason to ignore the pressing fact he had a lot of homework to do. When Leo repeated the sentiment, louder this time, he was the first to look up from where he was lying on the sofa.

"How?"

Leo admitted that he hadn't really thought things through that far. Percy sighed and threw his arm across his face.

"Maybe Chiron's right. Maybe we should just go outside or something."

Leo perked up. He was sitting on the floor, playing absentmindedly with an old walkie-talkie and he waved it about as he spoke, nearly decking Frank sat behind him.

"Outside!" he said. "Yes we should go outside."

He seemed way too enthusiastic about the idea. It was enough for Hazel to glance over in some concern.

"You said fresh air was pointless," she commented.

"That was before when we had a TV. Now outside is genius. We can make our own video game."

"That was your first idea," Percy observed.

"Ye-es," Leo admitted. "But this is that idea new and improved. I've got these walkie-talkies that Connor gave me and there's that old playground out back. We can make an obstacle course and control someone around it. Tell them what to do with the walkie talkies and stuff."

"Tell them to do stuff?" 

Nico was sitting on the floor behind Percy’s sofa and he'd been so quiet the others had kind of forgotten he was there. He poked his head out.

"What sort of stuff?" he continued.

"You know, jump. Go left. Turn. That sort of thing," Leo said vaguely. “I haven't worked out all the particulars yet.”

"That's obvious," Nico said. Then he shrugged. "Sounds fun. Count me in."

"Really?" Leo asked, then quickly. "Great."

Nico gave him a look.

"I didn't think you'd be the first to agree," Leo said defensively.

"I'm in too," said Percy, still without looking up. "And Annabeth."

His girlfriend looked up at her name.

"What are you signing me up for?" she asked.

"Leo's video game super smash brawl IRL," Percy said. "Far as I'm guessing he's thinking of an obstacle course capture the flag death match kind of thing where someone bosses someone else about through walkie talkie."

Annabeth thought about that for a second.

"We're in," she said. "Right Pipes?"

Piper nodded seriously.

"Be good to kick your butts in real life," she said. "Bagsie Reyna."

And that was how they ended up outside in the grounds letting themselves be bossed around by Leo who had found a mega-phone somewhere and was using it to bellow instructions across the lawn. Jason came out, trying to adjust his glasses with an elbow at the same time as trying to shift a heavy cardboard box into a more comfortable position.

"This was all the tech corridor 13 could scrounge up," Jason said.

"They were pretty apologetic about the loss of the TV," he added as Leo extracted a broken video camera with a worryingly large grin.

"Here!" Leo called as he threw the camera towards Harley, who caught it one handed. "That should be good for section one."

"Section one?" Jason asked. "Leo this is going to be a little game right? A quick distraction?"

Leo barely gave his friend half a second of attention, too busy rummaging through the box.

"Uh-huh," Leo agreed, though Jason was pretty sure Leo had absolutely no idea what he was agreeing to.

"Corridor 13 have started a betting pool," Jason continued. "What exactly have you told them?"

"Video game," Leo mumbled. "Recreating a video game."

Jason sighed, and then jumped back rapidly as Harley walked back their way carrying a large piece of plywood.

"Okay," he said in defeat. "If you need me I'll be talking to napkin suppliers."

"Ooh can you get me any free samples?" Leo asked.

"Sure?"

"Great. And you don't mind me designing your costume then?"

"No that's fi- wait costume?”

Leo wandered off, feigning deafness as he screeched into his megaphone.

“Leo! What costume?"

Leo continued doing a good impression of not being able to hear, waving a set of fairy lights excitedly at Harley. As he passed Reyna, Piper and Annabeth they covered up the several sheets of paper they had spread out on the floor around them and ostensibly stopped talking.

"Go away spy," Piper teased. "We won't let you steal our top secret plans."

Annabeth waited before Leo had got a safe distance away before continuing with her inventory plans.

"And rope of course."

Nico had joined forces with Hazel and Frank. Frank didn't seem entirely comfortable about the entire set up, partly because he wasn't super into video games but Hazel and Nico's competitive streaks were coming out and they were showing their claws, and partly because Hazel's brother made him just a tiny bit uncomfortable.

Hanging out with Nico properly for the first time was a little nerve wracking, because as stupid as he told himself he was being, Frank couldn't help but think that he was one stupid comment away from Nico skewering him with the pencil he was holding, or at least skewering him with a look. Still Hazel adored Nico and Nico adored Hazel and so it was clearly up to Frank to get over the fact he was mildly terrified of the slight, pale teenager with the eyes like shards of glass.

And Nico hardly seemed to be paying attention anyway. He'd had all sorts of plans in the beginning, and Frank had begun to realise that Nico was a bit of a mythomagic nerd. His knowledge of stats and different attacks could come in useful, but equally couldn't, since none of them really knew exactly what Leo was planning on building for them.

Now Nico was just staring into the distance, tapping a pencil distractedly against his knee. Frank followed his line of sight, but all he could see was some of the corridor 13 lot with Lou-Ellen and a couple of the guys from 7 and the younger ginger and green haired girl Frank always saw on the archery range. Callie? No, Kayla.

Frank shrugged it off, assumed that suddenly disappearing into his head was one of Nico's things and began discussing whether or not Hazel thought they'd need a shield.

"Do you think we'll need matches?" Annabeth asked, adding another note to her equal parts frighteningly organised and horrifyingly disorganised list.

"This is Leo," Piper said. "I think we should have everything possible. Up to and including the national guard and a medic on call."

Annabeth added matches under cold weather provisions, cross-referencing it a second later to light-emitting devices and then adding an arrow to warmth.

"Do we have a torch?" Reyna asked.

Annabeth frowned, scanned her notes.

"Yes under electronic items."

Reyna nodded sagely. She was relatively new to The Pantheon School, so really she was dealing with the chaos well considering she’d never had to survive through Leo’s other projects and ideas.  

"How serious do you think Leo is about all of this?" Reyna mused. "I saw him walk past with a drill a minute a go. Where on earth did he get a drill from?" 

"Don't know," Piper laughed. "And don't think I want to know."

"Leo's hardly serious about anything," Annabeth mused. "But when he's got a project he's off. He's serious. And we've got a reputation to withhold."

"Well if we are doing this we're doing it properly," Reyna said. "I heard Leo was making his team costumes."

"My kind of area," Piper said with a grin.

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "You know how to sew?"

"Some confidence would be nice," Piper teased. "But no. I do, however, know some girls who love fashion and would be happy to help."

Reyna frowned. Annabeth pictured Drew's scowling, sardonic expression.

"Really?" Annabeth said again.

"Really," Piper said with a devious grin. "My corridor owe me a favour." 

 


	2. Part Two (Introducing the Characters)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Seven (plus special guest Will Solace) introduce their alter egos.

"Good morning," Leo said, greeting them with raised arms and a devious grin as they filed into the common room.

"It's four o' clock in the afternoon," Nico grumbled. Leo, dressed haphazardly in a dark cloak with a sword on one hip, a lightsaber on the other, gave him a look.

"Not in this story it's not," Leo said. "Sit down and stop complaining."

The common room had been decorated by Leo's enthusiastic minions, presumably to set the tone. The windows were blocked off by dark sheets, setting the room into an artificial gloom. There was a suspicious pile of boxes, some plain and some wrapped in bright paper, on one of the coffee tables that had been shoved into the corner. The sofas, chairs and beanbags had been rearranged to create a rough circle. Leo stood in the middle, making up for the lack of light with a torch that he shone at the others as they walked in. Nico hissed, ironically or not Leo couldn't tell, as the light shone into his eyes and threw himself down onto one of the beanbags with a glare, Frank and Hazel taking the sofa beside him. Piper, Reyna and Annabeth took a cluster of beanbags and armchairs leaving the sofa for Percy and Jason.

"Right," Leo said. "Phase one begins -"

"Phase one?" Jason interrupted. "Leo please tell me you haven't gone overboard."

Leo stared evenly back. His viking-style helmet was slightly too big for him, slipping sideways so that the horns pointed off diagonally, making him look vaguely like a confused bull.

"Of course not," he said. He didn't bother trying to sound innocent. No one would have believed him. "This is just the part where we get to know everyone's characters before the main event."

"I'm in charge of this," he continued waving his arms to indicate the common room, "Pantheon Town, which has been plagued by monsters. You all are trying to catch the monsters. It's a competition." 

He looked around the assembled circle at his friends, all of whom were in costumes of various degrees of skill.

"You can go first Jason," he added.

"Hold on," Piper said. "You said you were on Percy and Jason's team."

"I am," Leo said. "There'd only be two of them otherwise."

"Well that's not fair," Piper complained. "You can't be in charge and on their team."

"Why not?" Percy asked, trying his luck. Annabeth glared at him and he raised his hands in surrender. "Kidding," he said hurriedly. "But it's not fair if it's just me and Jason either."

Leo was frowning.

"We'll just have to draft someone else in," he said. "Jason you introduce yourself and I'll go grab someone."

"What do you mean introduce myself? I'm me!"

"He's gone," Reyna pointed out.

Jason sighed.

"I'm Jason," Jason said dutifully. "And Leo made me this costume."

Jason had been dressed as what Leo thought a gladiator looked like which was 2/3 historically accurate and 1/3 additional "laser weapons".  Leo had done a pretty good job, managing to turn napkins, cardboard, an old sheet and foil into something reasonably recognisable. Where he'd really gone to town was the "laser weapons" which were barely identifiable as the water guns they'd started life as. It didn't bode well for the amount of creativity he was probably going to be putting into the rest of the game.

"He's not a half bad seamstress," Annabeth said, slightly grudgingly.

"It's very accurate," Hazel agreed.

"Suits you," Piper joked. "You should dress up as a gladiator more often."

The rise of noise: joint jeering, teasing and eye rolls dissipated as Leo burst back in, followed by a slightly bemused Will Solace, dressed casually and incongruously against the others. Leo directed him to sit between Percy and Jason which he did with a shrug. Nico shifted suddenly, drawing his knees up to his chest, which drew Leo's attention to him.

"Right," Leo said, clapping his hands together loud enough to make Frank jump. "Where were we? Introductions! Nico: what's your name and your role in Pantheon Town."

"I don't know," Nico said slightly sullenly. "I didn't know that was required. You forgot to tell us that bit."

Nico hadn't dressed up any more than was necessary, or arguably at all. He wore his usual dark jeans and dark top. In deference to the game he had fashioned an impressive dagger which he'd thrown down on the floor next to him.

"Make something up," Leo said, waving Nico's complaints aside. "This is a game of speed and improvisation under pressure!"

Nico rolled his eyes.

"I'm Nico," he said in a slightly mocking, sing-song voice. "And I don't have a job because I'm having an existential crisis."

Leo was unfazed.

"Great!" he said. "Hazel and Frank."

They both stared at him. Hazel was dressed practically in her riding boots, and leggings. She had a long sword made as expertly as Nico's dagger. Frank was in his regular clothes, a gold breastplate over his shirt. He had a plastic bow and arrow set, painted to look a little more frightening.

"I'm Hazel," Hazel said. "I'm the baker."

"Good, Frank."

"I'm the butcher?"

"Could be a little more imaginative Frank, but alright."

He turned to where Reyna, Piper and Annabeth sat. The three of them were in costumes of practically professional quality which definitely put the others efforts to shame. Reyna had opted for a pirate flavour and looked imposing and severe in boots and a long coat, her long hair braided over her shoulder. Piper had gone for something that was a cross between Wonder Woman and an assassin and was grinning like the world was her oyster. Annabeth looked uncomfortable in a more traditional spy or action hero get up: all black with plenty of pockets.

"We can be anything?" Piper asked, leaning back in her armchair.

"Anything you like," Leo confirmed. "Try to be more imaginative."

"Will it have any bearing on the game?"

"Almost none at all," Leo said cheerfully.

"Fine," Piper said with a grin. "By day I'm the kindergarten teacher, by night I'm a super spy on a mission to destroy the corrupt mayor.

"I'm Chief of Police," Reyna said. "And the only one who knows Piper's secret identity."

Piper shot a finger gun at her with a wink.

"Annabeth?" Leo asked.

"I'm the curator of the Museum," Annabeth said.

"She looks after this mysterious black box," Piper put in. "It's either the arc of the covenant or Pandora's box."

Leo looked at Annabeth for confirmation, and she shrugged and nodded.

"Much better you three," Leo said.

"And last but not least, Percy and Will."

"I'm Batman," Percy said. "You never said the town couldn't have Batman."

Leo thought about this for a moment. 

"Fair enough, I'll accept. Will?"

Will looked at Percy one side of him, dressed also by Leo in an outfit similar to Jason's but playing on Percy's interest in Marine biology with more blue and a slightly scary looking (laser) trident. He looked at Jason in his gladiator costume the other side of him.

"I have some questions."

"We all have questions," Jason said drily.

"You're a drama kid," Leo said waving a hand.

"Sort of," Will agreed. "I mean actually that's more -"

"You must have played Werewolf?" Leo continued, not really listening to his protests.

"Okay yeah, but -"

"This is going to be like that. Except not."

Will swept his gaze around the circle once more.

"Fine," he said with a slight beatific smile, giving in. "I'm from the future, I accidentally time travelled here. I was a doctor but I wasn't very good with live patients, instead I brought them back from the dead and created a vampire army."

"See I knew your drama skills would come in handy. That's everyone right?! Then let me tell you a little bit about Pantheon Town."

Music rose - the elegant and ringing notes of the godfather theme. Harley, important job of pressing the play button completed, went back to sitting unobtrusively in the corner.

"Welcome to Pantheon Town," Leo said. "A beautiful and pleasant village that has recently been overcome by monsters."

He paused.

"That's where you gasp in horror."

The others dutifully did so with varying degrees of sarcasm, effort and dramatic brilliance.

"Thanks. Anyway, the one peaceful village is overcome and needs your help. You have been sorted into teams and the first team to complete all the challenges, solve all the clues and defeat the monster in charge will win!"

Piper raised her arms in slightly sarcastic celebration, and cheered.

"That part didn't call for audience participation," Leo said, feigning irritation. Piper just grinned.

"You will now all choose your different skills which _will_ have a bearing on the game so choose wisely. My assistant Harely will now hand you your score sheets."

Harley, scrambled to his feet and thrust a surprisingly neat bit of card at each player, with surprisingly coherent instructions.

"But wait there's more!" Leo said in his best television commercial voice. "This isn't just a team game! No, there are individual missions too and you all have a secret role as well as a secret objective. There are traitors among you and if you work out who they are, you get to kill them off. Traitors, it is your mission to for a secret team to try and take the others down."

"Werewolf?" Will commented.

"Yeah okay Werewolf," Leo said. "But with lasers! And other monsters! And maybe space! Anyway Harley will now give you your secret roles. You have five minutes to learn them, and then you can meet me outside for CHALLENGE ONE!"

 

 


	3. Part Three (Challenge One)

Nico was examining his piece of paper when Frank came up behind him. He snapped the piece shut and turned. Frank stepped back and put up his hands as a peace offering against whatever he saw in Nico’s face.

“The others are gathering down by –“ Frank paused and floundered, trying to decide on a term appropriate for Leo’s haphazard creation, “the obstacle course.”

“Okay,” Nico said. “I’m coming.”

He shoved the paper into his pocket and followed Frank down the lawn across to Leo’s monstrosity. It somehow managed to be both small and overwhelmingly complex. Nico was genuinely surprised none of them had been pulled into Chiron’s office about it yet, but perhaps that was just because Chiron was glad they weren’t harassing him about the lack of the TV.

Piper, Annabeth and Reyna were clustered together whispering intently, though the actual words were lost on Nico. Percy, Jason and Will were scattered around on the grass. Jason looked uncomfortable in his costume, and kept fiddling with the shoulders. Percy was chatting to Will who, despite looking completely normal, stood out a mile among the others and seemed faintly amused by all of it.  

Leo made his way down the slopes, his arms raised in a dramatic fashion.

“Welcome!” he called. “Welcome one and all to our first challenge.”

Piper was grinning lazily.

 “He’s way too into this,” she whispered.  

“You’re dressed as a superhero assassin,” Reyna pointed out.

“Touche.”

“This is a gauntlet test of courage and strength-“

Nico raised a lazy hand.

“Can I bow out now?”

“No!” Leo snapped. “Anyway the rules are very simple. There is a magic cup at the end of –“

“Isn’t this Harry Potter?” Piper interrupted.

Leo glared at her.

“Yes okay it’s a _bit_ Harry Potter. Anyway can we just focus on –“

“Continue,” Piper said with a smile and a gracious nod.

"Look," Leo said, dropping the ethereal tones. "Just find the cup before the others. One player on the course only. Others direct with the walkie talkies," he gestured to a colour coordinated, neatly labelled, neatly stored rack of walkie talkies.

"Feel free to sabotage. And remember your roles."

There was a pause. The group looked at each other.

"You can go!"

If Leo expected them to all rush off, racing to be the first one onto the course he was disappointed. Piper was first to move, staring at the course like it might bite her, but none the less grabbing a walkie-talkie and hoisting herself up onto the first platform.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth moved to take the other walkie talkie.

"Is she allowed equipment?" she asked.

"Uh -"

"You really haven't thought this through have you?" Piper called.

"Shut up Pipes," Leo said. "I have thought this through and no not this round."

Jason took a couple of steps towards his girlfriend and then glanced at Will and Percy.

"Unless either of you want to -?"

Percy shrugged.

"I'm still not entirely clear on what's happening," Will admitted. "And am largely only here because Leo is paying me and Cecil said I wouldn't."

"Right."

Piper saw him coming and began to run into the obstacle course. At a loud blast of an air horn that appeared in Leo's hand, Piper jumped, almost falling over the side of the thin platform. 

"No autonomous movement!" Leo shouted.

Piper huffed out a breath.

"Annabeth?" she called.

"Uh right um -?"

"Percy!"

Percy picked up his walkie talkie.

"Forward?"

Jason ran ahead.

"Annabeth!" Piper screamed.

Nico, having lost a coin toss against Hazel, climbed up onto the platform with considerably less cheer than either Piper or Jason. Hazel passed Frank who was reluctantly ordering the scowling Nico to move forward and Reyna who was frowning at Annabeth's increasing frustration. As Percy instructed Jason deeper into the maze, Hazel sat down next to Will.

“Hey,” Will said in greeting.

Hazel appraised him. He was leaning back on his hands watching, with the faintly amused expression he’d been wearing the entire time, as Percy shouted at Jason through the walkie talkie, trying to get him to shove past Piper onto a thin piece of piping bridging one section to the next.

“So you know about werewolf?” Hazel asked.

Will shrugged.

“Sure I mean we’ve played it a couple of time in our corridor.”

“I have no idea what it is,” Hazel confessed. “And at this point –“

“You’re too afraid to ask?” Will suggested, eyes gleaming.

“Leo’s explanations kind of lack the explaining part,” Hazel agreed.

Will thought.

"It's a tactical game. You have to try and figure out who the werewolves are through talking to everyone. There are other roles to that can help or not help. Usually the werewolves know who each other are but either Leo's forgotten that or he's trying to make this more difficult."

"Both are quite likely," Hazel said.

She glanced at Will, tapping her fingers against her leggings.

"So I could ask you right out if you are a werewolf?"

"You could," Will agreed. "I might lie to your face though."

There was a pause. It was a significant pause. Hazel had to hope she was reading the right significance.

"I don't get how this ties in with the running along an obstacle course," Hazel admitted.

"I'm not entirely sure it does."

"Hey!" Reyna said, stalking over. "What are you two talking about?"

She looked suspicious.

"Obstacle courses," Hazel said. "And whether or not werewolf actually relates to them."

Reyna's eyes were narrowed and she still looked suspicious. Her fingers toyed with the plastic sword at her waist. Hazel and Will stared back beautific and innocent. Reyna sat down beside them, on the basis that if they were going to have secret conversations they would have to do it in front of her.

"They seem to be struggling somewhat," she commented. "Do you think we should help?"

Will and Hazel both replied in the negative, their responses different but basically amounting to nah.

Up on the obstacle course Jason was struggling to walk along the piping which was bending alarmingly under his weight.

"Are you sure this is safe?" he called to Leo, who wasn't really listening.

"All up to saftey standards," Leo said, soothingly and distractedly as he tried to switch on a video camera and make notes on what they were doing all at the same.

"What safety standards? The three little pigs?" Jason muttered as somewhere a little further along there was a suspicious sounding crack.

Behind him Piper was getting impatient, jigging from foot to foot and going between telling him to hurry up and telling Annabeth to figure something out.

"Just jump down and climb up the other side," Annabeth suggested.

A buzzer indicating that was the wrong answer blared from Leo's phone.

"I got a soundtrack app," he told them with a grin.

"You can't just jump down and go around in video games," he added in sterner tones. "So you can't do it here."

Annabeth glared at him and anyone else it might have cowed but Leo didn't seem to have the same sense of self preservation as anyone else. She took a deep breath and pinched her nose.

"Okay," she said, moving around the obstacle course, scanning the structure. "If you go backwards a bit, -"

"Not specific enough," Leo interupted. "Don't respond to that Pipes."

Annabeth gave Leo another glare. Piper rolled her eyes.

"Move backwards four steps," Annabeth reiterated in sharp, precise tones, with a pointed look at Leo.

"You can respond to that," Leo said happily through his megaphone. "Now I'm going to go see what Di Angelo is up to."

Annabeth glared at his back as he retreated.

"Where is Nico?" Annabeth asked, suddenly suspicious.

Nico under Frank's orders had climbed to the top of one of the towers, and managed to get up onto a crow's nest like platform. He was dutifully but half-heartedly describing the course for Frank, slumped against the pole he'd climbed up and fiddling with his jewellery.

Below him Piper was hurrying along a set of monkey bars and Jason still trying to navigate the pipe. Percy and Annabeth were quick with their instructions and Frank was still talking to Nico over the walkie takie but their other teammates -

Nico leant over and saw Hazel and Reyna sitting with Will. They were huddled like in conference. Suddenly Will laughed, eyes and nose scrunching up and Nico's stomach see-sawed in response. He pulled back away from the edge so quickly it was like he'd been electrocuted.

"Nico are you listening?"

"Yes," Nico lied. "But for the sake of argument -"

"I said what do you think Will, Hazel and Reyna are talking about," Frank said, more patiently than Nico would have.

Nico was relived he was high up enough that no one could see the colour flooding into his cheeks. His heart jumped, his stomach clenching.

"Why would I know that?" Nico said, trying not to snap, not quite managing it.

Frank went quiet for a few moments.

"Do you know what roles Leo's given us?" he asked. "Like are we looking for werewolves? Or something else? Only those three seem pretty friendly all of a sudden."

Oh. So Frank hadn't been subtly referring to the small crush Nico tried to keep hidden. That made sense. Frank seemed nice enough but he also seemed kind of clueless at least when it came to spotting relationships. He still didn't have a clue Hazel was crushing on him and Nico thought that was pretty obvious.

Now if it was Piper she'd have worked it out in seconds. Nico's mouth felt dry and his palms clammy just thinking about it.

"Why don't you try and interrogate Hazel?" Nico suggested. "She's supposed to be on our team after all."

Matchmaking attempted and good deed of the day done, and more importantly Frank distracted from throwing orders at him, Nico settled down up on the crow's nest and sat back to watch the unfolding chaos.


	4. Part Four (Challenge One)

Piper was beginning to wish she did more arm days. Or went to the gym at all. She was nearing the last monkey bar when her right arm gave out and she didn't reach up quick enough with her left. She fell to the floor with a bump.

"You've lost a life!" came Leo's voice, blaring through his megaphone.

"What do you mean I've lost a life?" Piper demanded.

"You've lost a life," Leo repeated. "You've only got two left. Go back to the last checkpoint."

Piper must have looked blank.

"The bit just before the monkey bars," Leo explained in a stage whisper that was still decibels too loud through the megaphone.

Grumbling, Piper hoisted herself onto the platform. Over the other side of the course Jason had gotten across the length of piping and was running deeper into the obstacle maze.

"Annabeth!" she called through the walkie talkie. "Wake up! If Jason wins I might have to dump him out of principle."

"Go forward to the end of the monkey bars then make a sharp left." Reyna came through crackly through the tinny speakers.

"Now we're talking," Piper said.

She grit her teeth and jumped forward to catch the first bar.

Having navigated the piping Jason had a maze of wooden planking to contend with. Percy was doing his best to get him through, and Jason was doing his best to try and explain to Percy the layout but he was still ending up down a lot of dead ends and Percy was still accidentally instructing him to walk into walls.

Piper whooped somewhere to the right of him and he grit his teeth.

"Percy we've got to hurry this up," he said.

"You could just pretend I told you where to go," Percy said. A foghorn sound blared through.

"How did he hear that?" Percy demanded. "His hearing is supernatural."

"Anyway, I've got Will climbing a tree," Percy said. "He'll be able to see better than I can."

Jason nodded and took the left Percy had told him too.

"He might not need to," he said. "I think I can see the cup."

Nico too had spotted the cup, accidentally, when he'd been distracted by Team Jason's sudden team spirit. Will had climbed up into a tree and was shouting down to Percy who was in turn relaying everything to Jason. It was surprisingly efficient. It was probably something like what Frank had been aiming for if Nico hadn't been so apathetic and Hazel hadn't wandered off to confer with Reyna and Will.

Where was Hazel anyway? Reyna and Will had both gone back to their respective teams.

"Nico!"

He looked down. She was standing under him, waving.

"I know where the cup is!"

"Oh," Nico said unenthusiastically. "Let me get down then. Did you catch Frank? I think he wanted to check in with you."

Hazel blushed slightly, suitably distracted. Well she hurried off, Nico began climbing down very, very slowly. 

Piper was racing under and over a set of hurdles and a net.

"He's gonna to win!" she complained.

"It's alright," Reyna said. "Annabeth's got a plan to slow the others down. Just keep moving."

Piper was moving. She'd hit her elbow twice and she'd torn her costume at the knees. Piper had never really thought about joining the army but Leo's obstacle course made her doubly sure she wasn't suited to it. Superhero assassins - yes. Crawling under a heavy net that felt like spiders dragging along her back as she shuffled along - no.

She just hoped Jason was struggling too.

Jason was busy hoping Piper was struggling. The cup had looked a lot closer from the end of the maze but every time he moved forward it seemed to jump back another thirty feet. He went around a corner and stumbled into Harley who was dressed as a tiny ninja.

"Surprise bad guy attack!" Leo hollered, apparently not getting the concept that with the megaphone he could talk at normal volume.

"I hope you guys picked up the weapons that were dotted around!"

Complaints exploded into the air.

"If the bad guys hit you you lose a life," Leo called cheerfully. "One hit with any of the weapons will take them out. Have fun!"

The complaints picked back up. Harley lunged towards him.

"Backtrack!" Percy called hastily. "Backtrack!"

Jason backtracked.

"Will says that Leo's little ninjas are camped out around the cup," Percy said. "We'll have to find a weapon. Didn't you see any? Why didn't you pick them up?"

Jason honestly hadn't noticed any weapons. He'd been far too distracted by trying to get to the cup as fast as possible and before Piper.

"Head back to the maze," Percy suggested. "There's always important items in mazes."

It seemed like good advice. And Harley was getting quicker, a manic grin on his face. Jason broke, not quite into a run, but definitely a rapid jog.

There was a ninja at the end of the net. Piper had performed an awkward 180 and was now crawling back.

"We're not going that way again!" she said.

"Noted," Reyna said.

"How's Annabeth getting on?"

Reyna glanced over to Percy, saw Annabeth talking to him.

"Distracting Percy pretty well," Reyna said. "Will's going over though, I don't know how long the distraction will last. Better move quick."

"I am," Piper groaned.

Nico was not moving quickly. He'd found a styrofoam sword at the bottom of his tower and held it limply in front of him. It was just as well because a small ninja jumped out in front of him. Nico managed to stab her with the sword and with a dramatic death scene his enemy was vanquished.

Okay so it turned out stabbing small children with foam swords was kind of fun. When Frank told him to go left he went left a little more quickly than before.

"There's a heart stuck to the wall," he said.

"Pick it up," Frank said. "In fact just pick anything you see up. Unless it looks like a bomb or something."

"Noted."

Piper had found a sword but was now faced with a section of the course Leo claimed had turned into quick sand.

"But it's fine," she wailed.

"Nope," Leo insisted. "It's quick sand."

"You're just doing it because I'm here," Piper said accusingly.

"Not true," Leo said. "It's all planned out in my big notebook. You can look afterwards if you like."

Reyna's voice came through the walkie talkie directing her a different way. Piper obeyed grumbling the entire time. Suddenly she stopped.

"I think I hear Jason," she said.

"And Nico!" she added. 

Reyna's voice sounded a little more high pitched with her next instruction, the words rapid. Piper raced around a corner, stabbed a ninja quickly and without stopping to watch the dramatic death scene plunged onwards.

At a crossroads Piper almost ran straight into Jason. The two paused, shocked, and then without thinking Piper reached out and slashed at him with the sword.

"Jason you've lost a life!" Leo called. "Did I mention you can attack other players? You can attack other players!"

Jason scowled and slashed back at her.

"Piper another life down, one left."

"You said back to the checkpoint," Piper complained. "Jason didn't go back!"

"That's if you fell. He didn't fall."

Jason grinned at her.

"Bad luck Pipes."

She saw what he was about to do and he saw what she was about to do. Their toy swords clashed in mid air. While they both tried to get free and get in a stab, Nico ran past.

"Damn it!"

Reyna was yelling at her to run. She took off after Nico, but he was quick. Jason was on her heels, as Nico approached the cup he tried throwing his sword. It landed just short of Nico's feet.

"Nice try Jason!" Leo called. "Didn't make contact though."

Nico's fingertips were inches from the cup. A ninja jumped out but Nico slashed without looking, raised the cup high.

"Suck it losers!"

Piper groaned.

"This is your fault," she protested, poking her boyfriend in the chest.

"Me?" Jason said. "You stabbed me!"

"You deserve it for making me lose."

Cheerful celebratory music screamed from Leo's phone, through the megaphone. At his request they convened on the hill. Nico was still holding the cup.

"Well done to team uh - did I ask you to make team names?"

"No!" everyone chorused.

"Oh," Leo said. "Well that can be homework then. Congrats to Team Nico anyway! You win some coins to spend on stuff for the next round! Other teams, bad luck. You win nothing cos you failed."

Piper glared. Annabeth looked deadly.

"But there's all to play for over the next week -"

"How long is this going on for?" Jason asked.

"Until we get the TV back. Until we graduate. Until we're old and decrepit! Who knows!"

"Leo -"

"Okay I planned three rounds. Round two same time next week. Keep your weapons and anything else you grabbed from the maze. Oh and you might want to start working out who is who. Next week we're all about werewolf sabotage!"


	5. Part Five (In-between the Challenges)

On the first day following Leo's obstacle course, Piper and Jason were no longer talking to each other. It was a matter of principal Piper explained to Reyna as she lay back on the grass. Reyna was mostly listening but was also trying to nod along to Annabeth who was, with rising frustration, researching video games in preparation for the next task. She was also watching Frank talking to Hazel under the oak tree in the middle of the grounds and wondering if that was a conversation that might be worth her time to subtly eavesdrop on. When Piper gave a cheery "earth to Reyna!" Reyna had to blink, and play catch up.

"He shouldn't have stabbed you," she hazarded.

"Granted," Piper agreed cheerfully. "But I was actually talking about Frank and Percy. Why are they suddenly so friendly?"

"You think one of us should be doing some casual spying?" she continued.

"I need to ask Percy about our English homework," Reyna said. "Now seems like a good time."

Piper grinned at her conspiratorially.

"You are a very dedicated student after all," she said.

"The most dedicated," Reyna agreed solemnly.

Annabeth looked up, put her pencil behind her ear.

"Did I hear you talking about Percy?" she asked. "Tell him to get over here when you've finished spying. I need to ask him about this Mario game to lull him into a false sense of security about our prowess."

"And also you slightly don't get it?" Piper suggested.

"Why does Peach keep letting herself get kidnapped? She's a Princess - what are her guards doing? At some point wouldn't she just take a self-defense class?"

"All important questions," Piper agreed. "My theory is she just likes hanging with Bowser."

Reyna left them discussing that point and walked slowly over to Frank and Percy. When she was close enough to hear them she slower down further to a dawdle.

"I think that Will - "

Percy looked up sharply as a twig snapped under Reyna's foot and Frank faltered to a stop. Both of them regarded her as she approached and Reyna walked past them as casually as she could.

"I was going to grab drinks," she said. "Either of you want anything?"

"Sure," Percy said. "I'll have a glass of _nice try spy_!"

Reyna stared at him evenly and then rolled her eyes at the pleased grin on his face.

"Annabeth wants you," she said.

She passed them and continued up towards the dorms. Now she'd mentioned getting drinks she may as well get drinks. Cecil kept a store in a box hidden under one of the sofas full of cans of sweet and fizzy drinks they weren't normally allowed. She was kneeling, pulling it out when she heard the door open. She didn't move, because Cecil let everyone go in the box. But then she began to realise that she was hidden and that the two people who had come in had no idea she was there.

"Do you think they've figured it out?" Hazel asked.

The other person was quiet for a moment.

"Annabeth maybe," Will said. "I think she caught me going into the kitchen."

"Do you think she'll tell?"

Again there was a pause while Will thought through his answer.

"Not at first," he answered. "She'll want to figure out who's who first."

There was another pause. Footsteps indicated one of them was moving. They'd catch her any minute and then the game would be up for her.

There was a commotion outside.

"Cecil?" Will called.

He moved away, calling something to Cecil as he went back down the corridor. A second later Hazel went too, her footsteps fading out as she walked away.

Reyna sat up thoughtfully. The two had been close from the beginning which was odd considering they didn't really have much to do with each other before now.

Leo hadn't really given them any clarity about what other roles there were. She knew what she was and she was pretty sure no one else knew what she was. On the other hand she'd caught a glance of Percy's piece of paper because he'd stuffed it in his pencil case so she knew Percy was a regular player. A "villager".

There was at least one other werewolf or similar monster. If she knew how many, she'd be one step close to solving it. Annabeth had charts and diagrams with who might be who. Reyna didn't write it down, but in her head she did the same, trying to put the jigsaw together.

Whatever Will was it was likely Hazel was too. 

Jason was on hold with a company that supplied balloons and had been for the last twenty minutes. He wasn't entirely sure what was taking so long but at least he had Leo to keep him company. Leo had been chatting happily for the last fifteen of the twenty minutes, a kind of distracted babble that was a product of needing to do something while his hands fiddled with an old stereo.

It was a useful distracted babble. Jason was learning a lot about werewolf, in some cases in more detail than he could follow. He had managed to discern that there were three werewolves and/or monsters of some description - Leo apparently hadn't decided yet - and that of the other five of them two had other roles not classed as a regular villager. As yet Leo hadn't distractedly disclosed them but give it time.

"And so I was thinking of myths right because we did that history class on the greeks and werewolves are mythic right? But there's also something to be said about lasers."

Jason uh huh-ed in agreement, thinking of the costumes Leo had designed for him and Percy.

"So there's typically the witch and that's all very well in myths but does it work in space?"

"I don't know?" Jason said. "Does it?"

He couldn't sound too interested because if he did Leo would probably twig he was quite literally giving the game away. On the other hand, if he didn't sound interested enough Leo would probably move on. No matter what first impressions of Leo might impress, he wasn't a moron. He sometimes spoke before he thought and his mind worked so quickly even his motor mouth had trouble keeping up. But Leo was smart. He and the others might be mocking the disorganisation of it all but the obstacle course and the entire thing was an achievement.

He wondered if any of them had mentioned that yet? Probably not. He would, he vowed. As soon as he got what the other two roles out of Leo.

"I don't know," Leo said. "Can you imagine a witch with a laser? It was a big problem thematically."

Sneakiness really wasn't his thing. Directing conversations and manipulation really wasn't his thing.

"Gandalf has that staff thing," he hazarded. "That looks like it could shoot lasers."

Leo's hands stilled momentarily.

"You know what you're right. I've got some rethinking to do for the next round."

Jason frowned.

"No, no there's no need to change anything. I'm sure what you've done is great."

Leo was no longer listening, and his head was so far away he might as well have been on mars. He just waved a hand, airily pushing aside Jason’s objections.

"Phone," he said.

"Huh?"

"Phone Jason!"

He'd let it fall. Coming out of the speaker was a crackly hello. He jumped back into action and cornered the poor balloon guy before he could run away again with a rapid hello. When he glanced back up again Leo had vanished.

In the hallway Leo bumped into Will. Leo rebounded into the wall, Will stood rubbing his arm.

"You look distracted," Will commented slightly pointedly.

"Jason has a great idea about space wizards," Leo said. "I need to incorporate it somehow."

Will's smile twitched.

"You know I still don't have that snickers you offered me."

"Was it a snickers? I thought it was a packet of m&ms?"

"Either way," Will said with a slight grin.

"I'll get Harley to get it to you," Leo said. "Harley's my minion now. I like having minions."

Will laughed.

"Not so sure Harley feels the same," he said as he walked off.

Leo was halfway down the hall when he realised Will and Hazel had gone off together. He thought about the roles he'd given them, then he shook his head with a slight smile.

Right, laser wizards. And was it too late to dress up as Gandalf? He could make the beard out of cotton wool maybe and the hat wouldn't be too much work, though it may get in the way of the helmet.

As he hurried back to his makeshift workshop he didn't notice Reyna, coming out of the common room and looking thoughtful.


End file.
